TVO Original “The Arrest” takes a searing look at the impact of wrongful arrests

Toronto, May 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — On May 26 at 9 pm ET, TVO presents the world broadcast and online premiere of TVO Original The Arrest on TVO and tvo.org. This gripping documentary by journalist and filmmaker Martin Himel (Undercover in ISIS), follows several Ontarians whose lives have been shattered by their wrongful arrests. Facing job loss and rejection of employment applications, social stigma, housing denial, and in some of the worst cases, an inability to adopt, foster or work with children, their lives will never be the same. At the center of this documentary is Toronto attorney Davin Charney, who fights tirelessly for the wrongly charged, demanding justice and compensation.“What I find most captivating about a documentary like The Arrest is not just how terrifying and shocking it is, but how it actually has the power to effect change”, says John Ferri, TVO’s Vice President of current affairs and documentaries.“My father was one of those old-time lawyers, constantly negotiating with police to keep his clients from being arrested. He always warned me about how easy it was to fall victim to an unjustified arrest. The alarm bells really went off when the John Howard Society issued its report claiming 44 percent of those arrested in Ontario have their charges dropped, are declared innocent, and yet carry the damage of arrest for a lifetime. I knew I had to make a film about this”, says filmmaker Martin Himel. The Arrest will be available to stream anytime across Canada on tvo.org beginning May 26 at 9 pm and will rebroadcast on TVO May 28 at 9 pm and May 31 at 10 pm. Claire Ferris
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